Exploring stories one book at a time

Bout of Books

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 7th and runs through Sunday, January 13th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 24 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog.

From the Bout of Books team

Writing this post has been an interesting experience, as WordPress seems to have updated/changed the writing posts portal. It’s been interesting learning how to use it. I guess I really have been away for a long time…

This post is going to act as a permanent spot to keep track of my progress during Bout of Books 24, rather than creating a new post every day. So be sure to check back here if you want to see how I’m doing.

Aaaand back to no reading. 😓 I did however take part in the Twitter chat, and I had lots of fun. An hour is just not enough!!!

Sunday Jan 13th

The final day. Eek. And what do you know…

Finished Reading: Archangel’s Prophecy by Nalini Singh

Pages Read: 99

Total Pages Read: 372

Bout of Books 24 Wrap-Up!

So Bout of Books 24 has finished. Where did the time go?! I guess I better get this wrap-up written and stop procrastinating.

Although I only read one book, I do think for me Bout of Books 24 has been a success. I did actually read 372 pages. In an ideal world I would have loved to have hit 700 pages or at least finished a second book. Archangel’s Prophecy was a really enjoyable read, and a good set up for the next book in the series – which I now have to wait for, boo!

I took part in a Twitter chat, and a couple of the Instagram challenges. I think next time, if I can take part, I want to be better at visiting other people’s blogs and leaving a comment to say hi. I was really bad at that this time. Normally I manage to leave a couple of comments a day, or maybe every couple of days, but this time I did not visist any blogs at all.

Thank you to everyone who reads this far, and who has stayed with me for this journey. 😘

I can’t believe it’s 2019 already! 2018 just seemed to fly by. 2018 was not a good year for reading for me. I completely failed my reading goal – I didn’t even make it half way to my goal of reading 52 books. I also stopped posting on here. Sorry about that. I don’t even really have an excuse, except that reading just wasn’t happening for me. Still, I hope you had a better 2018 reading-wise than I did and that you managed to reach your reading goals. So we’re now in the first month of 2019, and I am back and determined to keep on track. Thank you to everyone who has stayed with me, I really appreciate it.

#JanInBooks19

Bout of Books 24

So what do you have to look forward to? Well nothing is set in stone yet, but there will be reviews from me this month for Serpentine by Laurell K. Hamilton and A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas. I’m also planning on taking part in Bout of Books, which starts on January 7th (you can sign up to take part yourself here). In February I will be taking part in the London Bookshop Crawl and I will of course be documenting that (click here if you think you’d like to take part too). On Instagram I’m taking part in bookisglee’s photo-a-day challenge (you can find me here). I’m still subscribed to Illumicrate so there will be unboxings of that. I am also considering doing a monthly Books I’m Looking Forward To post that would include both new releases and books I’ve already got, but we shall see.

Here’s to reaching 52 books this year, and keeping up here on the blog. I hope you had a great December, and saw 2019 in in the style of your choosing. I’d love to know what you are most looking forward to this year, bookish or otherwise, so please leave me a comment. Until next time.

Sorry I disappeared for longer than planned, but I will be back with reviews soon. I’ve been having a bit of a reading slump for the past couple of months, but hopefully this Bout of Books will kick me back into gear. Thank you to everyone who has stayed with me. 💕💕

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

So I only have one goal this week, and that is to finish reading HERO AT THE FALL by Alwyn Hamilton. I’m over a hundred pages in and really enjoying the story so far, but for some reason it’s just not translating into actually sitting down and reading. 🤷‍♀️

Bout of Books 23 TBR

If you’re taking part in this Bout of Books let me know in the comments, I’d love to know what your goals are and how you’re progressing.

Monday

Book(s) I’m Reading:Hero at the Fall by Alwyn HamiltonNumber of Pages Read Today: 0Time Spent Reading: 0Book(s) I’ve Completed: NoneChallenge I’ve Participated In: Instagram Currently Reading challenge (here)Notes: To be honest I didn’t expect to read a lot today as I had things going on, so I’m not disappointed.

Tuesday

Book(s) I’m Reading:Hero at the Fall by Alwyn HamiltonNumber of Pages Read Today: 0Time Spent Reading: 0Book(s) I’ve Completed: NoneChallenge I’ve Participated In: NoneNotes: I had to complete some chores today (that ended up a bust) that took a lot more time and effort than I planned so nothing got done.

Book(s) I’m Reading:Hero at the Fall by Alwyn HamiltonNumber of Pages Read Today: 32Time Spent Reading: 14m 54sBook(s) I’ve Completed: NoneChallenge I’ve Participated In: NoneNotes: I know it’s not a lot, but I actually managed to sit down and read. I really enjoyed the thirty-two pages I read. Fingers crossed on Sunday I’ll manage to get some more pages in.

My only goal for this Bout of Books was to finish reading Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton and I failed. That being said I did manage to read 125 pages or for 40m 48s which I will admit isn’t a lot, but I’m very happy with this as it is more than I have managed to read for weeks. So I’m very pleased with Bout of Books 23, and I’m hoping to carry the momentum forward. If you took part, then I hope you had a good Bout of Books too.

I’m back, and taking part in the twenty-second Bout of Books. Fingers crossed this will help me get ahead with my review schedule – sorry about missing last week, there will definitely be a review up this week.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 14th and runs through Sunday, May 20th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 22 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog.

– From the Bout of Books team

I’m hoping this Bout of Books will be better than my previous one in terms of the amount of reading I get done. With that in mind, here are my goals:

Wednesday, 16 May 2018Book(s) I’m Reading:None
Number of Pages Read Today:None
Number of Pages Read Total:None
Time Spent Reading:None
Total Time Spent Reading:None
Book(s) I’ve Completed:None
Challenge I’ve Participated In:NoneNotes: Today I realised how far behind I was with my Bout of Books goals, and still didn’t manage to get any reading in. Instead I buckled down and wrote the review meaning I will have no excuse tomorrow.

Wrap-up: So as far as my goals went, this Bout of Books was an almost complete fail. I did manage to take part in two challenges (although both were on day one) but everything else was a miss. However, I did manage to start and finish a book so I’m pretty happy. Thank you for all your support.

A day late . . . but here I am signing up to take part in the twenty-first #BoutofBooks! I just couldn’t resist, plus hopefully this will give me a reason to be a little more active in my reading.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 8th and runs through Sunday, January 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 21 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

As per the last coupleof times I’ve taken part in Bout of Books, I’ve combined the sign-up post and the update post into a single post. If you want to see how I’m progressing through the week then be sure to come back and check this page.

Bout of Books 21 goals: to finish Warrior Witch by Danielle L Jensen, and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I’ve started both books, but just seem to be stalling with them for some reason.

You can keep track of how I’m doing below.

Tuesday January 9thBook(s) I’m Reading: –Number of Pages Read Today: –Number of Pages Read Total: –Book(s) I’ve Completed: –Challenge I’ve Participated In: –Notes: Today might have been my first day, but I didn’t actually get any reading done. Despite my excitement for signing up to Bout of Books I just wasn’t in the mood to read. And isn’t that just typical!! Ah well, there’s always tomorrow.

Saturday January 13thBook(s) I’m Reading: The Night Circus by Erin MorgensternNumber of Pages Read Today: 52Number of Pages Read Total: 52Book(s) I’ve Completed: –Challenge I’ve Participated In: –Notes:I actually managed to read something. Wow. But in all seriousness, I’m very happy with those fifty-three pages. I also took part in the Twitter chat, which was fun.

Today marks the start of the twentieth Bout of Books. I decided I wanted to take part a while ago, but somehow I never actually got round to signing up. I don’t think this will be a particularly brilliant Bout of Books for me in terms of amount of reading I’ll get done, but as Amanda and Kelly often point out Bout of Books is not about the amount you read but the fun you have. After the last several months I definitely need some fun! Bout of Books 20 came at the perfect time.

If you’re new to Bout of Books then here you go:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 21st and runs through Sunday, August 27th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 20 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

As I did with Bout of Books 19, I’ve decided to combine my sign up post with my progress post – so don’t forget to check back here to see my progress as the week progresses.

The books I intend to read during Bout of Books 20 (+ a snack and a drink).

For Bout of Books 20 my goals are simple. I want to read as much as I can. I want to complete at least one challenge, and I want to take part in a Twitter chat if possible.

I’m sitting here writing this late on the 10th of September. You could say Bout of Books 20 was a bit of a disaster for me in terms of page count, and that is totally true. I read nowhere near the amount I wanted to, nor did I get any motivation to read. I did manage to take part in the Twitter chat on the Sunday, and I did complete one challenge – I also read something, which is a LOT better than nothing. August was not a good month for me, here’s hoping that September will be better.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 19 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

As I’ve left this so late, I’ve decided to combine the sign up and my progress into a single post. If you haven’t already, there’s still time to sign up – I believe sign ups are open until midnight on Tuesday/Wednesday, but go check the blog to make sure.

It’s taken me a while to write this post, so there’s a video of my TBR up on YouTube if you want to check it out:

Or you can just look at the pic below:

My TBR for #BoutofBooks 19

This year my goals, apart from reading the six books above, are to participate in one of the Twitter chats (probably Saturday’s) and complete at least one of the challenges. I’ll be keeping track of my progress below, so be sure to check back if you want to see how I’m doing or just leave a comment to let me know if you’re taking part.

My day: A slow start, mostly because I decided late on in the day to actually participate. Happy with the reading I did, and pleased I completed a challenge.

Day 2:May 9thBook(s) I’m Reading: The Turn by Kim Harrison [Book Depository] and Doing It by Hannah Witton [Book Depository]Number of Pages Read Today: 318Number of Pages Read Total: 408Book(s) I’ve Completed: The Turn by Kim HarrisonChallenge I’ve Participated In: I didn’t take part in today’s challenge.My day: Well I got a lot of reading done. I’m actually really happy about that. I’m also really happen that I’ve finished The Turn and drafted a review for it.

My day: I don’t even know what to say, other than it was a fantastic day for reading. I read a lot more that I thought I would. I’m kinda proud about it to be honest. It reminded me how amazing reading and books can be. Fingers crossed some of the momentum will carry across into day 4, even if I don’t read as many pages. 🤞

Day 4:May 11thBook(s) I’m Reading:The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic [Amazon UK] and an ARC of Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy [Book Depository]Number of Pages Read Today: 172Number of Pages Read Total: 1,342Book(s) I’ve Completed: None today.Challenge I’ve Participated In: I didn’t take part in today’s challenge.My day: It was not a good day, but I did manage to get some reading in which I’m proud of. I might not have read as much as I did for day 3, but then I didn’t expect to. I’m pleased with that.

Day 5:May 12thBook(s) I’m Reading:The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic [Amazon UK] and an ARC of Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy [Book Depository]Number of Pages Read Today: 221Number of Pages Read Total: 1,563Book(s) I’ve Completed: None today.Challenge I’ve Participated In: I didn’t participate in today’s challenge.My day: I didn’t spend a lot of time reading, but I’m happy with what I managed to put in around daily life.

Day 6:May 13thBook(s) I’m Reading:The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic [Amazon UK], an ARC of Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy [Book Depository], Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman [Book Depository], and The Raven King by Nora Sakavic [Amazon UK]Number of Pages Read Today: 285Number of Pages Read Total: 1,848Book(s) I’ve Completed:The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic, and Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile MeloyChallenge I’ve Participated In: I was tempted to take part in today’s challenge, but in the end I didn’t.My day: Today might not have been my best reading day, but it was a good day. I had lots of fun taking part in the Twitter chat – it was pure chaos, and all the more fun for it.

Day 7:May 14thBook(s) I’m Reading:Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman [Book Depository], and The Raven King by Nora Sakavic [Amazon UK]Number of Pages Read Today: 487Number of Pages Read Total: 2,335Book(s) I’ve Completed:Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman and The Raven King by Nora SakavicChallenge I’ve Participated In: There wasn’t a challenge today.My day: I ended up reading to the bitter end (and actually a bit over, I didn’t actually check my time until I finished the final book). This Bout of Books has been amazing in terms of the amount of reading I have achieved. Honestly it kind of blows me away.

So this post is, to quote, a day late and a dollar short. Or to be more accurate, eleven days late. 🙈 I was supposed to write and post this the Monday after Bout of Books 18 finished. Instead, I’m writing this on a Friday afternoon eleven days late which means I’ll be twelve days late by the time you read this on Saturday. I can only apologise. For some reason January seems to be getting away from me. I am at this moment behind on everything.

So to get back to the point of this post: I’m supposed to be wrapping up my Bout of Books 18 experience…

Doing Bout of Books 18 was a great way to start 2017. It got me into the reading mood, and there was no pressure. It was really nice. ❤️

Between January 2nd and January 8th I managed to read three and a bit books – that’s one thousand one hundred and sixty-eight pages. I was really pleased with this. I could have read more, but reading these three books really helped towards my goal of getting more reviews scheduled for this year.

And although I did not set myself any goal apart from reading, I did manage to take part in the Saturday Twitter Chat (for a while anyway). This was just as much fun as I remembered from previous Bout of Books, and something I highly recommend for anyone taking part to try. It is pure chaos, but such fun!

The books I read during Bout of Books 18.

And to wrap this post up, I thought I’d let you know that Bout of Books 19 is between May 8th and May 14th. You can find more details on the Bout of Books website, and I’m seriously thinking of taking part in it. Thank you so much for reading this far into this rambly, late post – you are awesome! If you haven’t had a chance to check it out you can find my review of Relativity by Antonia Hayes here. And I’ll see you soon with another review.

Monday was the last day of the Christmas holidays, and I spent it with my parents. So I had quite a gentle start to this Bout of Books, as I didn’t actually spend a lot of time reading. It was nice. This no pressure thing seems to be working.

The first one-hundred-or-so pages of I Was Here were interesting, and I’m glad I decided to pick up this book.It seems like one I can just dip in and out of when things get hard to give myself a bit of distance.

Day 2: January 3rdBook(s) I’m Reading: I Was Here by Gayle Forman [Goodreads], This Savage Song by V. E. Schwab [Goodreads]Number of Pages Read Today: 189Number of Pages Read Total: 291Book(s) I’ve Completed:I Was Here by Gayle FormanMy day:

Today I was due for a blood test (because of the medication I take) so I had that first thing, which was why I decided to treat myself to a McD’s breakfast and then have a mooch around town. I also decided to use up the leftover bacon and have bacon and egg mayo cobs.

I was in a real reading mood today, so with a lot of breaks I managed to get quite a few pages in which I am super happy about. 😁

Another good reading day. My best one this week so far. I didn’t really do a lot. A little cleaning, but I buckled down on the reading front. 🤓

Day 5: January 6thBook(s) I’m Reading: This Savage Song by V. E. Schwab [Goodreads]Number of Pages Read Today: 101Number of Pages Read Total: 666Book(s) I’ve Completed:I Was Here by Gayle Forman, This Savage Song by V. E. SchwabMy day:

Today I took the Christmas tree down and boxed everything up for next year – apparently you’re not supposed to put the tree up until today so that the three magi could deliver their presents. It took less time than I thought it would and was relatively stress free.

Of course I decided to start the day as I meant to go on, by actually making scrambled eggs for breakfast instead of just having toast. I enjoyed it.

I spent most of the afternoon with Mum, which was nice.

My breakfast.

Day 6: January 7thBook(s) I’m Reading: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir [Goodreads]Number of Pages Read Today: 230Number of Pages Read Total: 896Book(s) I’ve Completed:I Was Here by Gayle Forman, This Savage Song by V. E. SchwabMy day:

Today was a typical Saturday, apart from the fact that Mum went off to a tutorial. It was nice and relaxed, so I decided to make cakes. 🍰

I did manage to make a five-minute appearance in the Twitter chat. I was about half an hour late, and had to rush off to help make the stew. From what I saw, there were some interesting questions asked and answered. There were also some book recs that looked interesting, and I really enjoyed the discussion about what people would like to see more of in books.

My lunch.

Day 7: January 8thBook(s) I’m Reading: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir [Goodreads], A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir chapter sampler.Number of Pages Read Today: 272Number of Pages Read Total: 1,168Book(s) I’ve Completed:I Was Here by Gayle Forman, This Savage Song by V. E. Schwab, An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir Chapter Sampler.My day:

Another nice and relaxing day. I slept in and managed to complete An Ember in the Ashes and read the chapter sampler for A Torch Against the Night. It has me intrigued.

It’s only 19:28 as I write this, but I find myself read out which means I’m going to take a break from reading for the rest of tonight. So that means this is it for me for Bout of Books 18. I’ll be posting a wrap-up post tomorrow, but right now I’m really happy with how things went. 🤓👍🙌📚😴

One of the cakes I made yesterday. A lovely reading snack, even if I do say so myself.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

With 2017 just starting, I thought I’d use Bout of Books 18 to begin the year as I mean to go on – with plenty of reading.

These are some of the books I’m thinking of reading for Bout of Books 18!

This time I think I’m going to be very book focused. Normally when I take part in Bout of Books I try and take part in at least one challenge and Twitter chat, but not so this time. The only goal I am going to set myself for Bout of Books 18 is this: read as many books as I can. Which is, I’ll be honest, pretty open but as I’ve leart from past read-a-thons it’s never a good idea to put too much pressure on yourself.

If you’re taking part in Bout of Books 18 please let me know in the comments. And if you want to see how my progress is going be sure to check my updates page (going up soon).

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Welcome

Hi I’m Becki, welcome to The Flutterby Room. Thank you for stopping by. We have reviews for all sorts of books, and a few unboxings of book based boxes.
I have an MA English from the Open University, and a BA (Hons) English with Creative Writing from University College Falmouth. The Flutterby Room is the place where I share my love of books and reading. I try to give spoiler free reviews.